Max Kruse netted a hat trick for Wolfsburg, while Bayern Munich struggled but won on the road. The heartstopper was in Gelsenkirchen, where a talented youngster made the difference for Schalke against Hertha.

Schalke 2-1 Hertha Berlin

(Höwedes 28', Meyer 90+2' - Kalou 73')

Hertha Berlin's trip to Gelsenkirchen in mid-October wouldn't have been the obvious choice for a top-four encounter before the season kicked off. However, Hertha's excellent form in recent weeks saw them sitting in fourth before kick off. And they nearly nicked a point on a ground that's been very hostile to them in the past.

Speaking of hostile. The match was only 27 minutes old when Berlin went down a man. A reckless tackle from Vedad Ibisevic on Max Meyer saw the striker shown a straight red card.

And the Berliners fell behind nine minutes later when Benedikt Höwedes headed in Johannes Geis' expert corner kick. World Cup winner Höwedes has been out of action since undergoing surgery this summer and was making his first appearance of the season.

Schalke were completely dominant but failed to convert their advantage into goals. And Hertha engineered a brilliant equalizer on 72 minutes. Former Bayern kid Mitchell Weiser on the right wing lasered a cross to the back post for Salomon Kalou. With only 20 minutes left, Hertha looked to have clinched a point.

They could have had all three. Schalke Ralf Fährmann made a huge stop on 83 minutes. Then in the dying moments, two prodigious graduates from Schalke's football school combined to seal the home win.

Leroy Sané charged behind the Hertha back line and held his nerve to pick out Meyer, who rolled the ball into the net from close range. The game-winner in the second minute of stoppage time prompted wild celebrations from the Royal Blues' home support.,. including, of course, macscot Erwin the Miner.

Wolfsburg 4-2 Hoffenheim

(Kruse 1', 62', 82', Dost 7' - Toljan 30', Schmid 54')

A Max Kruse hat-trick saw Wolfsburg come out on top in a topsy-turvy Bundesliga encounter with Hoffenheim at the Volkswagen Arena. Kruse, a summer signing from Borussia Mönchengladbach, had failed to score for his new club but opened his account in style as Wolfsburg ran out 4-2 winners.

Kruse started the scoring binge inside the first minute, and Bas Dost headed in a Julian Draxler crossonly a few ticks of the clock later. It looked as though Hoffenheim were in for a thrashing. But Jeremy Toljan handed Hoffenheim a lifeline, and nine minutes into the second half, Jonathan Schmid finished off a fine move involving Kevin Volland to level the scores.

But despite pegging Wolfsburg back, the visitors couldn't seal the deal. Instead, Luiz Gustavo broke from his normal midfield position and crossed for Kruse's second of the afternoon. And a few minutes after coming off the bench, Andre Schürrle turned creator, beating the offside trap and delivering for Kruse who cushioned home his third.

The Wolves are slowly beginning to find form following the departure of Kevin de Bruyne. Meanwhile, pressure will increase on Hoffenheim coach Markus Gisdol whose team remains mired at the bottom.

Werder Bremen 0-1 Bayern Munich

(Müller 23')

Bayern haven't lost in 43 outings when Müller has scored

Bayern Munich became the first Bundesliga team ever to start a season with nine straight wins after a Thomas Müller first-half strike secured the points at Werder Bremen. Müller's ninth goal this year wasn't pretty - his first touch was predictably scrappy, but the German international showed composure to poke the ball past Felix Wiedwald from close range.

Müller's goal was created by Thiago Alcantara who notched up his seventh assist of the campaign. The Spaniard almost combined again with Müller in the second half, but the forward struck wide of the post. Pep Guardiola will have been relieved to see Robert Lewandowski walk away with just some scratches after a terrible challenge by Wiedwald .

Bremen's best chances came through Anthony Ujah in the second half. The Nigerian was denied by a typically outstanding save from Manuel Neuer before missing the target on 72 minutes. It was a small sign of complacency in Bayern's ranks, but the German champions were rarely in doubt and could have added more goals of their own towards the end.

Bayern's performance certainly was no match for the 5-1 dismantling of Borussia Dortmund a fortnight ago, but Guardiola's men march on and restore a seven-point advantage at the top of the Bundesliga.

Darmstadt are keeping the head above water with another win

Augsburg 0-2 Darmstadt

(Wagner 7', Niemeyer 29')

Dirk Schuster's men claimed another impressive scalp in the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win at Augsburg.

Set-piece situations were once again crucial. In minute 7, Sandro Wagner headed in Konstantin Rausch's excellent corener. It was redemption for the striker who missed a potentially game-tying penalty in Darmstadt's last outing.

Chances for the hosts were extremely limited and when Peter Niemeyer scored on 29 minutes, the home fans must have already known what was coming. Augsburg had 20 shots on goal throughout and more than 72% possession, but the visitors remained compact as a unit and ground out another fine away victory.

Hamburg 0-0 Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen's Bundesliga form this season is falling well short of expectations, and nowhere was this more apparent than in their goalless draw at Hamburg.

Hamburg keeper Rene Adler turned in a fine performance, making a number of crucial saves. The best chance for Leverkusen in the first half was through Javier Hernandez who claimed for a penalty kick after a tackle from Dennis Diekmeier. But the whsitle remained silent.

Adler saved later in the half against Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Karim Bellarabi to keep his clean sheet. And Bruno Labbadia's side could have scored themselves towards the end. But no dice for goals - the match ended scoreless. The Northern Germans have 11 points on the board, while Leverkusen have 14 - not bad, but a long way from great.

Dominant win for Gladbach at Frankfurt

Eintracht Frankfurt 1-5 Borussia Mönchengladbach

(Meier 29' - Raffael 16', 57', Dahoud 47', Hahn 86, 90')

Raffael scored a double on his 200th appearance for Borussia Mönchengladbach as they secured their fourth win in successive league games under Andre Schubert.

The Brazilian forward opened the scoring on 16 minutes, but another spot kick would peg the away side back. For the 10th time this season, Gladbach conceded a penalty on the half hour mark and Alexander Meier converted.

After the restart, Gladbach came out all guns blazing, playing all-out attacking football. Man of the match Mahmoud Dahoud saw his shot deflected into the net from 25 yards, while the German-Syrian midfielder assisted Raffael for the third and won the penalty kick for the fourth. Andre Hahn then stepped up on 86 minutes and at the final whistle for the Foals who move into 11th position.